Revenge of the Nerds: Reclaiming My Title!

Revenge of the Nerds: Reclaiming My Title!

Monday 18 November 2013

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My name is Lauren and I am a nerd! Now when I say that I'm a nerd I don't mean that I spend all day walking around in a t-shirt with the word geek on it claiming to be a geek I actually mean it. I love comic books and knitting and I have always been an enormous and unashamed fan of Harry Potter. I love nothing more than a good book. I am a lover of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and I adore British Comedy from the late 80's and early 90's. I love The Simpsons and have bone china mugs with Homer Simpsons face on. I ADORE Doctor Who and it is my mission in life to be a companion, preferably to Matt Smith's Doctor but that's not really a possibility anymore. I live and breathe music, I sing non-stop! I love baking and up until recently the highlight of my week was The Great British Bake Off. I also love quoting things that no one else gets and I usually burst out laughing before I reach the punch line of a joke.

None of these things I think make me a geek. What makes me a geek is the fact that I have never ever been ashamed of the fact that I like these things. That is the sign of a true geek unashamed delight and passion.

Simon Pegg said it perfectly...

                                        

I don't know if you've noticed that in the last 2 years or so being a geek has become somewhat mainstream and - not to sound petty- I am not happy about it.

Here's why:

   Throughout school I was known as a geek and I was bullied mercilessly to the point where I didn't want to go. I am not ashamed of that fact at all but what really, really get's my back up is that the people at school who judged me so harshly for all my nerdy hobbies and habits are now walking around claiming to be a geek and as a legitimate geek this pisses me off.

Being a geek is about never apologising for the things you like, and I will not now nor will I ever do that. I love knitting and I enjoy comic book films and I have insane crushes on Tom Hiddleston, Andy Samberg,  Jason Segel, Benedict Cumerbatch and Matt Smith. There are people who judge me for this and that's fine BUT don't you dare judge me whilst wearing a hoodie that tells the world you're a geek when you're not!

Yes my rant is petty and at this point a little bit out of date but I am claiming my title back. True Geek and Proud.

What do you think? Do you agree? Or am I just taking it too personally?

Until next time check me out on twitter, facebook, BlogLovin, instagram & Pinterest :)

Love, love, love xxx

Never judge a brand by it's price tag

Never judge a brand by it's price tag

Friday 15 November 2013

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I must confess myself as something of a make up snob. Don't get me wrong I absolutely adore high street brands (so much so that the people in my local Boots know me by name) and my make up stash is made up almost entirely of high street products. Having said that the brands I tend to favour usually come from the higher end of the scale, purely because I have always found better results with those that cost a bit more.

However I was shopping with my friend, fellow shopaholic and enabler the other day when we made a quick detour into Body Care where I was introduced to the brand Technic. The quickest way to my heart is through good music and nail varnish (I have 150) and they had shelves and shelves of nail varnish.

Usually I wouldn't give this brand a second glance, NOT because it looks like it would be awful but because I find it very hard to believe that you can get anything half decent for less than a pound. How very wrong I was. I was like a tiny child in a sweet shop, grabbing at everything and anything and getting thoroughly overexcited. After what seemed like hours of perusing the make up I settled on 3 new nail polishes and a new eyeshadow pallet.

L-R: Carnival, Turkish Sea, Siona Island. B:Electric Beauty Metalix Eyeshadow Pallet, all by Technic

This cost me a total of £5:49! As someone who has spent £70 on nail varnish in one hit (I got into so much trouble that day) this seemed like a total revelation. Desperate to play with my new make up I hurried home and painted my nails in Turkish Sea, using Carnival as an accent.

Nails in Turkish Sea & Carnival by Technic

The nail varnish was fantastic. Two coats and it was completely opaque. I always find glitter polishes difficult because I find it impossible to resist chewing it off but this one wasn't too bad, although it did take a few coats to get a decent amount of glitter. Unfortunately it only lasted a day before it began to chip which is pretty poor, however for the bargain price of £1 a pop I will definitely be adding more Technic products to my collection.

 As a strapped student (with a pretty serious make up habit and an out and out nail polish/lipstick addiction) I sometimes have to make the difficult decision between make up and food, and more often than not make up wins. Well not anymore. Now I can have both :)

Until next time guys for more nail polish related chatter and fun times check me out on twitter, facebook, BlogLovin, instagram & pinterest.

L0ve love love xxx

My Top 15 Happy but Mostly Sad Songs

My Top 15 Happy but Mostly Sad Songs

Thursday 14 November 2013

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On twitter I describe myself as a music blogger BUT I have never actually written about music... well all that is about to change. Music just might be my favourite thing ever. According to the marvellous Jodi Picoult, in her book Sing You Home, the reaction that music inspires in a person is some of the only proof there is such a thing as a soul. I don't know if I believe that but what I can say with absolute certainty is that music means so, so much to me, I love how it can move people, how you can dance to it, cry to it, sing along with it, fall in love to it and with it. I just love it so much. So I have put together a list of my favourite songs and the reasons why I love them. In no particular order or course (I apologise if I gush I'm not good at being critical).

Simple Song by The Shins - some of you may recognise this song from the season 8 finale of How I Met Your Mother, That's where I first heard it and I very, very quickly became obsessed with it. Honestly my play count on this song is ridiculous (triple digits).  It's so beautiful. I can't really describe it better than that.

Mine Again by Black Lab - Everyone has a song that they listen to when they're sad, this is mine. It is the most beautiful song.

Don't Stop Believing by Journey - in stark contrast to the song above, this song is the happiest song on the planet! I have been obsessed with this song since I was 10 years old when I first heard it (briefly) in The Wedding Singer! In the last couple of years or so this song has experienced quite the revival due to a little show called Glee and as much as I love that version (and the subsequent two other versions) nothing beats the original. It feels me with energy and happiness. This could be (whisper it) my favourite song ever!

The Freshmen by The Verve Pipe - a wonderfully moody 90's song. I so wish I had come of age in the 90's. I first heard this song briefly in American Pie: Reunion and it was love at first listen. It's my most played song and for good reason. The lyrics are so sad. It breaks my heart with every listen because it is just so beautiful. I don't know why it resonates so much with me it just does. It's wonderful.

Little Talks by Of  Monsters & Men - the lyrics of this song are deceptively sad! For a long time I didn't realise and then I listened to the lyrics properly and they are absolutely heartbreaking! But they are cleverly disguised by the ridiculously upbeat melody. As far as I can tell - I could be wrong- it's about an elderly couple and one of them has a degenerative disease and they're fighting it together. Like I said I could be wrong but it is so sad.

You Really Got A HoldOn Me by She & Him - Zooey Deschannel's voice is absolutely beautiful and it sets off the lyrics perfectly, it's such a wonderful version of the song. it makes me both happy and sad to hear it. This song is a classic but I love this version. Whilst the original version has quite an upbeat melody this one is more moody and more fitting to the lyrics I think.

Sweet Louise by The Belle Brigade  - This song is so nice. It's so upbeat and happy and it's just such a nice song! I strongly recommend it. It's about a guy who tells a girl, the titular Sweet Louise, that he is madly in love with her, sadly the not so sweet Louise doesn't feel the same but he doesn't regret telling her because he couldn't help it. It's really rather lovely.

Bruise by Oleander - This song has never been officially released,  however it was used in one of the earlier American Pie films, which is where I first heard this song. It's another song that appears to be happy but isn't. I think it's a real shame that it was never officially released as it is a really good song.

Overjoyed by Matchbox Twenty - The first time I heard this song was when I was in New York last year. Me and my mum were walking down West 49th and 5th Avenue looking for pancakes one morning when we stumbled onto Rockefeller Centre and what we found there was the set of Good Morning America and Matchbox 20 performing this song. Not only is it a really, really lovely song with a beautiful music video but whenever I hear it I am transported back to the streets of New York and reminded of what a wonderful time I had and how much I want to go back.

I Need My Girl by The National - The lyrics to this song manage to be complete and utter nonsense and heartbreaking at the same time. I first stumbled across this song in an episode of The Mindy Project and it is just amazing. It makes me cry but for the life of me I couldn't tell you why.

The Funeral by Band of Horses - Another song I heard in How I met your Mother. I owe the person in charge of music a big thank you.  The melody is haunting and beautiful, as are the lyrics.

Feel Again by OneRepublic - This song feels me with love and happiness and other good emotions. I love OneRepublic they haven't released a song that I haven't completely loved but this one is my absolute favourite. It's a happy song that is actually happy.

Girls Like You by The Naked & Famous - Recently I heard this song in a film and I have been listening to it on repeat. It's absolutely wonderful, so wonderful in fact that I was compelled to instantly download their album Passive Me, Aggressive You and listen to it a lot. Which I did and then reviewed.

Falling Slowly from the musical Once - I am a massive  fan of musical theatre, I saw this show back in July and it was so different from all the other shows that I have seen. This song was my favourite. The show is about a (beautiful) Irish man whose heart has recently been broken, he is busking on the streets of Dublin where he meets a Czech girl who falls in love with his music and then him. This is the song they sing when they first meet and it is absolutely beautiful. It had me in tears in the theatre and even now if  it comes on and I' m not prepared for it I get a bit misty eyed.

Let Your Heart Hold Fast by Fort Atlantic -  Ok I am a bit of a sucker for an indie love song. I love them. This song is amazing. It's so happy and sad at the same time. So beautiful.

Sorry I did ramble on a bit there. Music is my love. Creepy I know.What are your favourite songs?

Until next time lovelies feel free to follow me on twitter, facebook, BlogLovin, instagram & pinterest.

Love love love xxx